Fuel Prices to double.

[Ixion]

holy shit! my ute cost me $91 to fill up the other day 8-(.
People are gonna feel the pinch pretty soon.
Brisbane & the Goldcoast is looking better every single day.

$106 to fill the Pajero. And that wasn't from dead empty. Good thing Li'l Ratty does 80 mpg. Still only $14 for a week's communtering

[Lou Girardin]

I've figured that fuel will cost us an extra $500.00 per year for the cage and bike.
I don't like it, but I can live with it.
I'm more concerned that the oil companies are clearly ripping us off. You can expect an increase in their profits with price rises, because that is how business practice works, but a 138% increase for one oil company is obscene.
It's time the Govt treated oil supply as an essential service and threatened price control.
After all, what are the oil companies going to do? Close down and leave?
Not very likely.

[bugjuice]

BTW...I know I'm a bit slow at the moment....but why, exactly, are the petrol prices rising? Is NZ's dollar not worth much? Is their not enough petrol to go around? Is someone just being greedy?

the threat of attacks in Iraq etc is putting the price per barrel up. At the moment, it's about US$60+. At the end of the year, it's rumoured to be near on US$80+ which means gas will be in excess of $2pl. It's then rumoured that with in another 6 months or so, it'll be $3. So the idea of being double the price in 4 months time is a little hard to swollow..

It's basically all the wars going on. Not the idea that we're running out. For some reason, the workers, who have worked there for ages, now want more money to do the same thing they've done for years, cos there's fighting going on near their place. In fact, the workers probably don't even know it's gone up. It's the greedy managers! They control the world financially. Forget the banks or the government. The one who pumps the oil, holds the world. Shouldn't be that way, but it is, and it sucks the big one. And what can we do about it? pretty much SFA.

[danb]

For what it costs at the moment to fill my cage up will equal or near the price to fill my bike up in 6 months time if this expected price comes. - That’s going to hurt.

[Slipstream]

And what can we do about it? pretty much SFA.

Well this is exactly what I was thinking....what can we do about it....but shure as heck, our economy is going to majorly suffer....I wreckon we could be heading into another 'Depression' just because of fuel prices

[bugjuice]

Well this is exactly what I was thinking....what can we do about it....but shure as heck, our economy is going to majorly suffer....I wreckon we could be heading into another 'Depression' just because of fuel prices

well it's working.. I'm depressed about fuel/oil pricing..

[eliot-ness]

Latest oil prices. $68 dollars a barrel so not far to go fo the $80 forecast. Strange thing is though, in a years time the prices will be accepted as normal The rush to buy smaller cars will die off and we'll all be pleased when the gas prices drop a few cents.
NZ has been lucky so far. The UK is a major oil producer and exporter but still they have one of the highest petrol prices. NZ on the other hand produces no oil and being a small user has to buy on the 'spot market' at much higher prices than quoted. Not having an efficient; subsidised public transport system is the real problem. Cars and bikes are essential here, pricing them off the road would mean chaos as people rushed to buy homes nearer their employment, as in London or any other major city. House prices would rise beyond the means of the ordinary worker so wages would have to rise correspondingly creating a spiralling inflation rate. As it did with tobacco, the government will only allow prices to increase to a certain level. When the tax take begins to drop prices will level off and whatever party is in power will take the credit.
So, what looks like blatant profiteering is just an artificial means of controlling oil usage without losing money, something the oil companies and governments have been doing since the birth of the combustion engine. Using less fuel will only serve to push prices even higher. The only hope is that NZ, Australia, South Africa etc find massive amounts of oil and can afford to extract it without the USA taking control. (but then they might send the troops in to save us from Don Brash or Helen Clarke.)
As for oil running out. I first heard that in 1959 when petrol was rationed in the UK.

[TwoSeven]

Dont forget that the $68 buy price doesnt include the refining cost - US oil costs about $10 to refine per barrel, so you are looking at $78 for the cost of the refined product. The refining cost varies per country which is why you see a real deviation in prices. For some countries it can be as low as $5 per barrel.